2012 keeps popping spark plug wire off

[freeride1]

my wife just got a brand new 2012 crf250r and the spark plug wire keeps popping off. i've put it on and felt it snap on very good, then rode 5 mins, bike dies and its back off. the bike has 4.5hrs and the wire has came off at least 10 times. there is nothing pulling on it, its hard to pull off and it seems to seal well to the valve cover. i used zip ties straped across the top of the valve cover to hold it on and it will stay running but when i check it's unsnapped from the plug! any ideas?

Edited June 11, 2012 by freeride1

[thommo59]

Either your plug is loose and compression is pushing it off or something is pulling the lead when riding, like a snagged cable, hour meter wire or something when you turn.As you said, they "snap" on and don't just vibrate off by themselves.

[DaveCR]

I agree with thommo. Be careful with that plug as it won't take much twisting before it snaps off in the head. Remove the plug, inspect the sealing washer/gasket and install per the manual.

[nesc103y]

Sorry I don't have an answer but our 11 450 does the same thing.

[freeride1]

Sorry I don't have an answer but our 11 450 does the same thing.

what do you do about it?

[freeride1]

so i took the plug out tonight and everything is fine with that. it was tight, there are no cracks, color looks good and no signs of blow by. i played around with it inside the boot and it snapped in tight and stayed on very good. i put it back together and ran it on a stand, i couldn't make it come off by just running it.

[j368]

I've never had one come off. I did see one of the aftermarket companies that sold a spark plug wire retainer to prevent that. Can't remember which company though. Might have been Works Connection.

[fear]

I've never had one come off. I did see one of the aftermarket companies that sold a spark plug wire retainer to prevent that. Can't remember which company though. Might have been Works Connection.

That makes no sense... How could that clip ever come off? It's on there so damn hard.

Is there still a drain hole in the side of the head casting that lets water out of the spark hole on the 2012's? If that were plugged up I could see any water boiling off in there and blowing the plug boot right off.

[freeride1]

That makes no sense... How could that clip ever come off? It's on there so damn hard.

Is there still a drain hole in the side of the head casting that lets water out of the spark hole on the 2012's? If that were plugged up I could see any water boiling off in there and blowing the plug boot right off.

yeah it has the hole, i blew air threw it before i took the plug out

[freeride1]

I've never had one come off. I did see one of the aftermarket companies that sold a spark plug wire retainer to prevent that. Can't remember which company though. Might have been Works Connection.

i couldn't find anything like that with google

[gscx]

Only thing I can think of is the gasket around the spark plug between the valve cover and head is leaking and allowing pressure to build up and popping it off. If you check, it may be torn or it didnt seat quite right the last time you re installed the cover.

[freeride1]

Only thing I can think of is the gasket around the spark plug between the valve cover and head is leaking and allowing pressure to build up and popping it off. If you check, it may be torn or it didnt seat quite right the last time you re installed the cover.

i've never had the cover off but i was thinking about that and checked it out. the gasket seemed dry and when i was watching it run, i didn't see any signs of leaking.

btw, thanks for everyones ideas

[gyd]

We safety wire the plug cap to the hose clamp bolt on the head. We have had this happen on a couple of bikes. Here is a picture of how we do it. It is hard to see but safety wire runs around top of plug cap to the bolt head on the radiator/cooling hose clamp. It allows some flex and less likely to break wire.

http://www.flickr.co...N04/7179150377/

Edited June 12, 2012 by gyd

[gscx]

It could be the air expanding as it gets hot. But I think the spark pug drain hole would stop something like that from happening

[fear]

You could try running one or two of those small red plastic spray-nozzle extensions (like from a wd-40 can) down the side of the boot and out the top. If there is some kind of pressure that might vent it.

[freeride1]

i talked to dealership today and they told me to try a new plug. they said they've head of a couple bikes doing this. so thats what i'll try

[freeride1]

so i put a new cap on and problem solved.